Analyzing Mortgage Applications

How large a mortgage can you afford? The size of a mortgage you can qualify to obtain will determine how much you can spend on purchasing a home. There are a variety of different factors looked at by banks when analyzing mortgage applications.

Debt – to – income Ratios

What is a debt to income ratio? There are two types of debt to income ratios. A front – end debt to income ratio and a back – end debt to income ratio. The front – end and back – end debt to income ratios are utilized by mortgage lenders during the mortgage application process. A front – end debt to income ratio is in reality a housing expense calculation. The theory is how much of an individual’s or family’s gross (pre tax) income can be utilized to make mortgage payments on a monthly basis. This front – end debt to income ratio usually runs between 28% and 33% of an individual’s or family’s income. This means that the financial institution will not approve your mortgage application if your debt to income ratio goes beyond the financial institution’s guide lines. This specifically applies to conventional loans and Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loans.

Back-end Debt to Earnings Ratio

The back – end debt to earning ratio is the percentage of you or your family’s gross (pretax) monthly income that will be utilized for debt service for your financial obligations. Financial obligations include your proposed mortgage, credit card bills, car loans, child support, and all other types of financial indebtedness in this ratio. The back – end debt to income ratio utilized by financial institutions in their mortgage underwriting process is usually between 36% and 40% of your gross monthly income. This means if your proposed new mortgage and other debts are more than 40% of your gross income, you will most likely get turned down for your mortgage application. In situations where there are assets in the bank and very high credit scores, financial institutions have been going as high as 48% on the back – end debt to income ratio.

Before you submit a mortgage application, you should calculate your front – end and back – end debt to earnings income ratios. This will give you a better idea as to whether you will qualify for the mortgage you are applying for.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

First you get the loan, then you start making payments to the loan. But what happens if your financial situation changes? If you lose your job, become disabled, are downsized or have other financial problems, you may find yourself in a foreclosure situation. Do not dispair. The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo has been helping families deal with foreclosure problems for the last 45 years.

We provide all aspects of foreclosure defense. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients. We litigate issues such as defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, defective mortgages and other significant real estate related defenses. We’ve developed an expertise concerning federal laws and foreclosure.

We can also help you deal with foreclosure-related bankruptcy issues. Filing either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be necessary to deal with the foreclosure on your home. If you file bankruptcy, you can eliminate second mortgages in some situations, stop foreclosure, stop other debt collections practices and at the end of the bankruptcy, action can be taken to re-establish your credit. Feel free to call us for a consulation. Our phone numbers are 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350- 2802. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure defense blog.

Unemployed Americans Obtain One Year Waiver on Payment of Mortgages

Individuals with FHA (Federal Housing Authority) loans must now allow qualified borrowers who have lost their jobs to miss up to one years worth of mortgage payments prior to bringing a foreclosure proceeding against them. There’s currently a three to four month forbearance period for unemployed individuals. Unfortunately, most men and women who lose their jobs stay out of work for much longer than three or four months.

Secretary of Housing, Shaun Donovan, stated that “providing the option for a year of forbearance will give struggling homeowners a substantially greater chance of finding employment before they lose their home.” The Obama Administration seeks to remove hurdles for individuals to qualify for this program. Financial institutions who deny the one year forbearance to unemployed individuals must allow the mortgagors seven calendar days to provide further information that may change the servicer’s mind concerning this issue. All FHA service providers must cooperate with this new mortgage forbearance program. This new initiative by the Obama Administration is welcomed by both men and women who are out of work and the real estate industry in general. The huge number of homes being foreclosed upon is depressing the real estate market.

Foreclosure Defense

Foreclosure is a nasty term. Foreclosure notices are depressing. There’s a tendency when your financial troubles are out of control to try to avoid these problems. This is a wrong way of dealing with this problem. Come to us, we can help you! We litigate all aspects of foreclosure proceedings including, but not limited to, defective foreclosure lawsuits, defective mortgages, predatory lending issues, bad faith, and other real estate legal issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences for the clients we represent. We also assist our clients in the preparation of mortgage modification applications, as well as deal with mortgage modification programs that are unresponsive to our clients’ needs.

In certain situations, foreclosure related bankruptcies can be utilized to stop foreclosures from moving forward. Upon filing either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court issues an automatic stay that stops the foreclosure lawsuit from moving forward. It should be noted that bankruptcy proceedings are brought in the United States Bankruptcy Court, while foreclosure proceedings are brought in New York State Courts.

For our clients who file bankruptcy, we can sometimes eliminate second mortgages. We also can assist our clients in re-establishing their credit after filing bankruptcy. Should you have questions as to what type of bankruptcy would be appropriate for you or whether there is other alternatives related to foreclosure defense, feel free to contact us. At your initial free consultation, we will discuss all of your foreclosure options. We look forward to seeing you again on our foreclosure blog.

Buying a Home in Today’s Market

Buyer’s Market

There are many homes on the market today in every locality. Some homes are placed on the market by sellers, other homes come to the market by way of foreclosure by the financial institution. All of these homes have one thing in common, they’re competing against many other homes to be sold.

What Should a Seller Do

A seller should look for a bargain. In today’s market, if the perspective purchaser’s first offer does not insult the seller, they are offering too much money. There is no list price for a used home. The value of a home is based on supply and demand. There is an over supply of homes on the market right now. This is why it is a purchaser’s market. Do not be afraid to offer a substantially lower amount than the seller seeks to sell his or her home for. It is your money, be careful!

What To Do First

Obtain a credit report. If your credit is good, great! If your credit is not so hot, contact an attorney or credit counselor and rebuild your credit.

Speak to a real estate broker and/or a mortgage broker about the actual cost involved in the closing on the purchase of a home. Do you have 20% of the home’s value as a down payment? If not, look into whether you can obtain a mortgage with a lower down payment. Speak to other local banks or mortgage brokers.

FHA and VA Mortgages

FHA mortgages are Federal Housing Authority mortgages. VA mortgages are given out by the Veterans Administration to Americans who have served in the armed services of the United States. These are alternatives to obtaining a conventional mortgage from a financial institution. Investigate whether you qualify for these mortgages and whether their interest rates are lower then those of financial institutions giving out conventional mortgages.

Be Careful

Even if you obtain the deal of a lifetime, you may find that in a year or two, due to current market situations, your home is worth less than you paid for it. The purchase of a single family home is the largest investment most families make. It gives you a place to live and a place to raise your children. In most situations, it is a larger, more comfortable space than an apartment that you would rent. However, be advised it is an investment and investments can go both either up or down!

Foreclosure Defense on Long Island

We provide foreclosure defense for our clients. We litigate foreclosure lawsuits. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients. We deal with issues such as defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, bad faith by financial institutions, and defective mortgages. We’ve been handling real estate related matters for more than 45 years. We assist our clients in mortgage modifications and we deal with mortgage modifications that fail to meet our clients’ needs.

In appropriate situations, we file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients. Both of these bankruptcies have the impact of immediately stopping foreclosure proceedings. We explain the types of bankruptcies that are available to our clients, as well as why they should file bankruptcy. We also maintain a foreclosure blog that deals with real estate, mortgage and foreclosure related issues. Call us for a free consultation.

Foreclosure Defense in Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Baldwin, Malverne, Freeport, Oceanside, Long Beach, Elmont, Lakeview, West Hempstead, Hempstead, Merrick and Bellmore, New York

We represent individuals throughout the New York Metropolitan area with divorce and child custody, personal injury, car accident, wrongful death, estate administration, nursing home and medicaid issues

The information you obtain at this website is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your particular legal issue. This is attorney advertising.

This is attorney advertising. This website is designed for general information purposes only. The information presented on this website shall not be construed to be legal advice. If you have a legal problem you should consult with an attorney.

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